My parents have been long time saltwater fans and we had a tank throughout my childhood back in the early 90’s. They haven’t had one in a many years, while I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into the hobby. They’ve finally gotten the chance to build their dream home, and they wanted to put a massive tank as the centerpiece. Enter the 1,000 gallon monster.
My mother loves seahorses, so the L will be sectioned into two separate bodies of water, connected via the sump and possibly some flow. It will be 9’ long on the main side with a 6’ long side creating the L. The 6’ long side will be divided so that 3’ is part of the main tank while 3’ is part of the seahorse tank.
Here was my early concept:
Final floorplan showing a wide view:
Final floorplan closeup showing the tank and fishroom:
For the last year, I’ve been planning and acquiring gear (along with working a full time job and running a startup). For this first post, I’m just going to cover info related to the structure and build of the tank. Below is the initial concept from Planet Aquariums via our friends at Worlds Under Water in Fayetteville, AR.
Stand:
Tank:
My first questions for the community:
My mother loves seahorses, so the L will be sectioned into two separate bodies of water, connected via the sump and possibly some flow. It will be 9’ long on the main side with a 6’ long side creating the L. The 6’ long side will be divided so that 3’ is part of the main tank while 3’ is part of the seahorse tank.
Here was my early concept:
Final floorplan showing a wide view:
Final floorplan closeup showing the tank and fishroom:
For the last year, I’ve been planning and acquiring gear (along with working a full time job and running a startup). For this first post, I’m just going to cover info related to the structure and build of the tank. Below is the initial concept from Planet Aquariums via our friends at Worlds Under Water in Fayetteville, AR.
Stand:
Tank:
My first questions for the community:
- Would you divide the tank with a solid glass pane or would you try to do a perforated type of pane so that water flows between them? One consideration is that the overflow on the smaller side will need ball or gate valves to reduce its drain flow, or else we’d have a strong flow into the seahorse side.
- Do the bulkhead sizes sound correct on the two ghost overflows? (3) 2.5” holes with 1.5” drain bulkheads and (2) 1.5” holes for 3/4” returns
- Do you think there needs to be a second ghost overflow on the longer side of the tank, or will 1 be enough?
- The front(s) of the tank will have cabinets that come down that will help with jumpers. Any suggestions for how to block the back of the tank? I’d like to stay away from screen tops if possible, but need to get in there to work on it.
